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Question and background: I'm recently retired and thinking about cashing in a portion of my retirement savings to pay off credit card debt. Is this a good idea? I am 63 and was laid off last year. I decided to take early retirement instead of finding another job. I have accrued approx. $304,000 for retirement made up of 401ks, a block of stock from previous employer, and a tiny pension. The only thing I owe is on a credit card - $19,000. In a few days I will receive $1,700 per month, before taxes, of SS. FYI -- support system is a husband who is retired getting $2,500 a month of various income and about $16,000 credit debt of his own. Other than living expenses, we owe nothing else. Q: My block of stock is worth about the same amount as my credit card debt of $19,000. Would it be advisable to sell the stock to pay off my credit card debt? My pension amount is also about the same amount.

Question and background: I am married 58 years old, my wife is 55. We are both nurses in Alabama, We earn about $94,000 a year. I am about to change jobs after 27 years, my wife may not be able to work too much longer. We currently owe approx. $34,000 on our mortgage. In my 401k plan I have about $150,000. My next job will not allow me to put anything into a 401k plan until after I have been employed for one year. If I remain healthy, I plan to work several more years. My question: Should I withdraw enough money to pay off my mortgage? And what should I do with the remaining?

Question and background: I'm just about to turn 65 and have not worked for just over two years. I have about $400K in an IRA in addition to a couple of pensions and social security. How much can I draw down on the IRA to last until I am 90? I am drawing from two different pensions of $800 and $2000 per month. I am about to start taking Social Security of about $2300 gross. My wife is still working and will be for another year. She earns $12-20K per year. Is 90 a bit optimistic? Yes, but family history says plan on it.

Question and background: I'm married male 50 and have $500,000 in retirement accounts plus a paid off house. I also save an additional $25k that is added to retirement accounts each year. How much income I should expect from retirement accounts at age 65 and for how long?

Question and background: I have a 401k that I would like to convert to a Roth IRA. The amount is around $85,000. I have a few questions: Can I convert the entire amount at one time? If so will I owe taxes on the entire amount at my current tax rate? Can I pay the taxes out of the money that is being rolled over? How do I determine the conversion amount for my basis? Can I then withdraw the converted amount and avoid the 10% penalty since I will not owe taxes on the converted amount that is withdrawn?